New York art dealer jailed for $120 million investment fraud

A New York art dealer has been jailed for at least six years after admitting
he engineered a $120 million (£76 million) investment fraud whose victims
included Robert De Niro and John McEnroe

Guilty: Larry Salander, whose clients included John McEnroe and Robert De Niro
Photo: BLOOMBERG

By Tom Leonard in New York

5:56PM BST 04 Aug 2010

Lawrence Salander, 61, was given the maximum sentence of six to 18 years and ordered to pay more than $114 million (£71 million) in restitution.

In what prosecutors said was one of New York's biggest ever art frauds, he admitted in March to an array of schemes, ranging from selling shares of the same work of art to multiple owners to selling artwork and pocketing the proceeds.

At his sentencing on Tuesday, 10 of his victims gave evidence about how he used his charm to steal art and money from them. In one case, he walked into the home of a recently-deceased collector, shedding tears over his death as he picked up his $2 million collection of Picassos and Monets, only to sell them without permission and keep the money.

Earl Davis, who lost 90 paintings worth $18 million by his artist father, Stuart, said: "If I'd been robbed at gunpoint or by a thief in the night, it would have been preferable."

Salander's fraudulent activities were curtailed after he was sued by various clients desperate to recover artwork they had entrusted to him, forcing his gallery into bankruptcy.